The Boundary County Road & Bridge road crew is comprised of 11 heavy
equipment operators who operate road construction equipment in the
summer, including graders, dozers, excavators, backhoes, chip spreaders,
rollers and dump trucks. For organizational purposes, the county road
system is divided into five geographical areas, with one road grader
specifically assigned to each to perform maintenance during three
maintenance seasons and, joined by one plow truck, to plow snow in the
winter.

Six personnel work on the "other" side, usually doing drainage
or bridge-culvert work using county-owned excavation equipment. Whether
the work involves slope stabilization, culvert installation or road
reconstruction, it is usually necessary for part of this crew to drive
the trucks to haul in gravel or other materials needed, and for part of
the crew to flag traffic to ensure the safety of both motorists and work
crews. Larger projects are usually started after the grading season
ends, making more personnel available.

The current road crew represents a broad cross-section of construction
experience, and many of our personnel have worked for and with local
contractors building bridges and roads, doing utility work,
stream-course and drainage work, concrete and asphalt projects and work
for federal and state agencies. This allows Boundary County Road
and Bridge to perform tasks that are outside the scope of many local
jurisdictions, particularly major road construction projects, large
drainage systems and heavy bridge repair and maintenance.

Boundary County also operates two portable rock crushers operated by
three personnel, producing angular road-base material and crushed
surface gravel for road construction and maintenance. Other products
produced by the crusher crew includes rip-rap for slope stabilization,
drain rock for sub-surface work and 5/8-inch screened chips for asphalt
production and chip sealing. In addition, the crusher crew operates a
pugg mill, mixing oil and rock to produce cold-mix asphalt. In 1999, the
crusher crew began producing a high-grade chip product for the first
time, from which clay and fine rock particles have been removed. This
allows road crews to apply a superior chip-seal surface to hard-surfaced
county roads that provides improved traction, uses less oil and produces
less dust. Material rejected during the cleaning process is saved and
used to sand icy and snow covered winter roads, as this material
provides better traction and lasts longer than regular sand.

The Boundary County Maintenance Shop is staffed by one supervisor and
four master mechanics who maintain the Road and Bridge fleet of over 60
vehicles, but vehicles and equipment owned and used by other county
departments, including the Sheriffs Office, Parks and Recreation, the
Solid Waste Department, county maintenance and weed control.

The shop crew is one of the most creative elements of the road and
bridge department, being called upon to find novel solutions to many
problems. In addition to being exceptional mechanics, they are also
skilled in fabrication, and have built everything from truck sanding
units to snowplows from scratch. They also build structural members for
bridges, extend truck frames and build interesting things to mount to
the trucks, including water tanks and oil distribution systems. The shop
crew makes all the hydraulic hoses used by the county, and use machine
tools including lathes, milling machines, a plasma cutter and
specialized welding equipment to make parts or tools that would cost a
fortune if purchased through regular suppliers.

Helping keep everyone operating in
harmony is the Road and Bridge Office manager, who is
irreplaceable! Renee Nelson serves as dispatcher, office
administrator, cook and "keeper of knowledge!" If you have any questions
about Boundary County Road and Bridge, she's the person to contact during
regular operating hours.